IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955)

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955)

Tagline: Out of primordial depths to destroy the world!

(Sci-Fi, Horror, ) [G]

Note: The MPAA did not give a rating for this movie, but I am guessing it would have been a [G]. When it came out in theaters this movie was a double feature with CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN. 

Doctor, what kind of a sea beast would be that large? And what do you call it so I can stop calling it It?

In this one, a submarine has a run-in with a force of unimaginable power. After tons of speculation and trying to figure out exactly what is going on, it becomes clear that Prof. Lesley Joyce has been right since day one. We are dealing with a giant radioactive octopus and San Francisco is about to face its wrath? Can science stop this monstrosity of madness, or will the Navy win the day?

First off, if there is an example of the 1950’s taking a shot at itself regarding the sexes, this is the movie. I mean the script for this thing feels like it was written mainly to point out how tough women are. I guess just showing women being awesome wasn’t enough? I never mind when a woman takes front and center, it’s pretty awesome, but when you start to pile cheese into that arena, it almost cheapens the point. 

Where this movie succeeds is in a few of the shots of the giant octopus. However, most of the stop motion is really choppy and uncharacteristic for effects master Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen did do a pretty great model of the Golden Gate Bridge.  He had to, because apparently the City officials in San Francisco have always been idiots, and feared people would think the bridge could fall if they shot the real thing. They also used an actual submarine in some shots which is pretty rad. 

I guess the budget for this thing was low, it keeps getting mentioned in reviews I’ve read, but the acting is very solid. Kenneth Tobey is awesome in this as well as IT CAME FROM ANOTHER WORLD. He was outmatched by sci-fi leading lady Faith Domergue who plays Prof. Lesley Joyce. Domergue was also in THIS ISLAND EARTH and THE ATOMIC MAN. Donald Curtis plays Dr. John Carter and doesn’t really blow me away, but he’s good enough in this thing. Curtis is best known for his role in EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS. There is also a bit of unintentional humor in this. Smoking was so popular in the 50s that we have a scene in this where a dude is smoking a lot and walks past at least one No Smoking sign. 

Where this movie kind of falls flat is in how slow-moving it feels. We do see a decent amount of the octopus, but the dialog and plot just kind of drag on and on. Normally I don’t care about a movie that is under 80 minutes with a giant freakin octopus moving slowly, but it just feels like the plot was missing some depth that could have helped this thing out. Also – I wasn’t counting, but apparently, the octopus only had 6 legs. So it’s more like a hextapus? 

Overall this is a 5 out of 7 movie that I would watch again but doesn’t get into my top 20 1950’s sci-fi films. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF CLOVER PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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